wow.

at 1st, i thought this was the picnic where we'll play at noon, but then maybe it was hart pk, but i don't think it's either. still, what a shot. :) this morn i'm listening to NPR &the birds are singing joyously. my house is in escrow, the sun is shining, & later i get to see 100s of friends, then my little beautiful cousin, who is having her 1st communion. today is a good day, & may it be for you, as well.

evol.

- wasn't that the name of a sonic youth LP? on the front was this snarling, crawling monstrous chick... my brand of love's just backwards, & tho i've been snarling & monstrous in my time, i hope my brand of love's not. love in my estimation is noble, brave, kind, generous, heart-swelling, hormonal, obsessive, lascivious, perverse, etc. etc., but also awkward, oblique, bashful, stumbling, bumbling, stupefying, stupid-making: evol.
- my band practiced here tonight. stripped down, all sounded so grand & smart & fun & exciting... i want to record us next time we practice at my little place... yes, after i got over my pity party (the guys are much better musicians than am i), we sure had fun, i think. :) yes, this wkend we're playing a sober picnic... then markoni gets to go play the beerfest. priceless! from the sober drunks to the drunk drunks - what a capper! just goes to show reality trumps fantasy in the departments of interesting, weird, & funny. :)
- this past wkend, my sis & i did a 5k. i'll let her tell you about it, tho i'll say it was her 1st... here's a pic of us (from andy noise) w/my hair flying attractively. not. it sure was fun to share that experience w/my little sissy, tho. :)
- then sunday this man & i went to venice beach & saw the creature pictured. i said, "you are awesome!!!" & he replied placidly, "you have to take root before you can branch out..." on the sand, a crush of stoned youngsters & hippies & more were beating out a gigantic drum circle-dervish to celebrate "4/20," which you either dig ref to or do not. i didn't really, til the big man told me, cause in my old life, every day was 4/20.
- lastly, here's a pic that needs no explanation.

wop-bob-a-loo-wop a wop bam boom

music is love & friendship, passion & excitement, peace, catharsis, joy. and kicks!!!
without music, life wouldn't be worth a fig.

i can shake a chicken in the middle of the room

- boy, last night's show at the branding iron was fun fun fun. :) 1st, phil & i met w/a couple opening a diner downtown at 19th & eye - they've got 45s glued along the tops of the walls all around the whole gigantic place! i looked @ most all (hundreds) & didn't see any that'd make a vinylphile cry if he/she saw it glued... we loaded in & then @ the last sec i had to speed home cause i'd forgotten to bring the plug for the PA head. ahhhh!!! then we played a (sort of) mellow little set bc it was early, & the crowd was very appreciative & happy & warm. by 2nd set we screwed it down quite a bit more & by 3rd set, robert tidwell was there screaming his mike ness versions of rockabilly tunes & phil even improvised a jazzy blues-billy thing when i left the floor to go answer a Q from an audience member & i so love riffing like that, tho i know sometimes it can be hair-raising, like when you don't know where the song's going next & just have to use your ear... all tight on the stage together, we cozied in & it felt swell to play together, like we were one unit rather than 4 separate souls.
- we met art byrom, who was really nice & complimentary, & i just loved how all the women in particular kept getting out to dance together, like the band & i were empowering them (i never really noticed a common theme running thru our songs - not just of sex, but of a certain independence) & several times i saw people singing along not just our covers, but w/MY ORIGINAL SONGS!!! - yes, looking @ me while i played & singing MY SONGS w/smiles on their faces... oh my gosh, that was too too cool!
- here's a pic from lovely angel of when i got on bass for a minute bc mark claimed he didn't know how to play johnny b. goode (i think he wanted to go burn one) - that bass was huge & heavy! but the pic's kind of cool. :) mark & phil were just hilarious throughout the show, what comedians. and the ladies really like phil, who always dresses up smart for the shows... he had some crazy running joke about chickens going all night & i realized we do two songs that mention them! i couldn't even sing "let's have a party" for the longest time bc i'd crack up when it comes to the line "i can shake a chicken in the middle of the room"... sometimes i still do laugh when i get there, but it's ok, it's all ok, we're sharing in the happiness of the room. :) next we need to add in the cramps' version of "chicken," tho i guess we'd have to do the dusk devils' version, since no one can well-imitate the cramps!!
- then we all went to zingo's & shared egg sandwich, biscuits, & country potatoes. i came home & everything went to crap. that morning had been so calm & peaceful, walking the labyrinth at st philip's & enjoying the lovely weather, & this morning's going to be good & beautiful & it's off to the drunk society where i'll be w/good good people, so life goes on til it doesn't, & then who knows what'll happen? ashes to ashes, dust to dust, make hay while sun shines, we must we must...

elaborations, fascinations, celebrations, admirations,

ok, so to explain the below pix:
1. dancing - those were from the al hendrix show we did w/al & token okies at ethel's. beforehand, phil & i practiced over at robt tidwell's beautiful italianate home in the country w/rt, franky kiplinger & kirby shropshire, who are mensches. then al came to town w/sweet wife laraine & we practiced again. the show was swell & fun & loaded w/bikers & al kept throwing me unannounced solos, prefacing each w/"here's jenny angel! jerry lee better watch out!" so then i'd choke real good, tho a few times i caught the right ideas & notes & it was kinda like flying, what exhilaration... mom, dad, angie & friends showed up, & one of my favorite persons on earth came in as we did "i push right over." that was really cool. al played well, super-rocking, even, &, of course, the phil was dressed to the nines. afterwards, he & i had really great ethel's hotdogs & fries & i am going to start him a fan club, mebbe... we dusk devils pretty much blew out the pa, tho not on purpose. am starting to think the piano, the mightiest instrument of all, is a formidable beast to pile on a pinche PA used only to 4 or 5 strings instruments... 88 keys pounding down like thunder, well, the PA is gonna be pretty much doomed sometimes...
2. ok, so then i  went snowshoeing again (only nearly fell to my death from the side of a steep snow-covered mountain this time; no injurious falls except when i tried to jump from bunk bed to king bed, forgetting i am decades beyond 10 years old, but @ least i didn't crack my head, like last time)... was eating in the dining hall & after the 1st taste looked @ each other in wonderment: this food was just spectacular!!! long story short, since i've gotta go to bed soon, is the chef somehow was talli counsel, the 1st african-american white house chef, chef for presidents carter, clinton, &, yes, obama. there he was, beaming broadly, chatting up the lodge-stayers, dressed in fine pressed black uniform that bore proudly the seal of the president of the united states! chef talli said he plans menus & travels w/the obama family when they go places on air force one. & he had cooked dinner!! all were eating a meal fit for a president! naturally, it was one of the most mouth-watering, scrumptious meals i've ever had: jumbo prawns, pesto ravioli, feta-stuffed lamb w/raspberry coulis, pumpkin-sweet potato pie, & even more than that - must pause to wipe drool from chin... how chef talli ended up cooking that night @ kings canyon's montecito lodge, well, i have no notion, only gratitude! (did i mention the food was free? included w/lodging? merciful heaven...)
3. ok, whiteboy james: he rocked the doubletree for pat evans' no stinkin' service charge blues series. his band was spectacular & james was so crazy fun & terrific! it kinda made me crazy, too, actually... after ending one exciting lead, scott abeyta weaved, panting, sweating, dazed, like he was gonna faint! the whole band was that much into the intense performance! the bakersfield audience was blown away, screaming for more. but james & the blues express left the stage, & pat declared, grinning, "i'd hate to follow that!" wbj & i chatted & bussed before & after the show; he is super-friendly & cute & funny & ingratiating & well-liked by many, many. i hope he comes back soon!! as i left, a large man grabbed my arm & enthused, "you guys need to open for them!!" i agree. that would be one fun, crazy-a** show, all right. :)
4. mi casa - i think i've gotten a place in frazier park, for the bottom line is that my choice @ this pt is breathe or die. the house is @ 5000 ft elevation. it's on a largish lot & backs up to national forest! you can stand in back & hear the wind rustling thru the trees! the house looks from the side like a hotel, which i really like, & has wrought iron railings, which reminds me of NOLA, so of course i'm in love w/the place, which to call a "fixer upper" would be a compliment. :) my family is horrified. restoring it will be my summer project. i can't wait! i love my house. from the second i saw it, i imagined how it will look when it gets some tender loving care. i had a vision! i'll fence the large yard & my doggies will come visit. i will listen to the trees. i will get calm. i will be able to breathe. :)
5. no pix on this, but am back to work. i missed so many of the kids so much while i was out, more than i even knew til i saw their sweet faces!!! i brought them lucky pennies w/a little note from me, thinking, they might not value these, but it feels right to give them out... the word's gotten round, & now lots of kids are coming in the library for their lucky pennies. one boy told me his penny fell on the floor; he went to pick it up & found 12 bucks. two came in today & told me, "the lucky pennies work! they brought us good luck! we won our soccer game!"
what could be better than stories like this? children big & small are the breath of life, the reason to keep trying, our future, our innocence & hope, & our joy.
time for bed! what a life! whatta whatta! mwah!

long long long long time since blogging

am back to work! the kids are so swell. :) will fill this in later meanwhiles, here are pix...